This invention generally relates to method and apparatus for inserting articles into packages, and more specifically, to such methods and apparatus that are well suited for inserting odd or unusually shaped articles into packages.
Many consumer products are often provided with an object or article in addition to the primary product. For example, small toys, souvenir items, or other articles, referred to as premiums, are often placed in cereal packages. While the package is purchased by the consumer primarily for the cereal, the premium in the package provides an additional incentive to buy the product and to help distinguish the product from other types or brands of cereal.
Often, these premiums do not have a simple geometric shape, and for instance, they may be in the shape of an animal or vehicle. Such odd shaped premiums are not well suited for use with conventional apparatus for dispensing or inserting articles into the back of packages; and consequently, heretofore, such odd-shaped premiums were typically inserted into packages by hand.